I Reject the villain’s ending.

Episode 35.

Mei unfolded another sheet of paper and drew the same magic circle on it as the one on her robe.

The magic circle, with its many overlapping circles and unintelligible characters, was completed in a flash with the tip of Mei’s pen.

“I didn’t draw any blood, because if I did, it would be confusing when checking the magic circle.”

“…I see.”

It was clearer and easier to read than the magic circle on the robe.

With this, I might be able to study it enough to create a Demon Reversal Scroll, just like Eldrakis wanted.

I’d thought Mei was just a nosy, off-duty maid who’d lost Eldrakis’s relics, but she was the real deal.

I rolled my eyes and pulled Mei into a hug.

“Standing, Saint?”

“Thank you, Mei. Thanks to you, I was able to grant Eldrakis his last wish.”

“I’m glad I was of service to you, Saint.”

Mei smiled sheepishly and patted me on the back.

I was still hugging Mei, overcome with emotion, when I heard a shocked voice from the corner of the room.

“Saint, now a woman…….”

I turned my head to see when it happened, and Iros was muttering like a man in shock with a blank face.

“Pink, our Eldrakis robes have been stolen.”

“What? That’s what you said with such a cheerful face?”

I grinned at Iros’s incredulous question.

“But Mei has memorized all the magic circles on the robe, so I can continue researching the circles.”

“How can she memorize them, it would be more convincing to say that Mei is a warlock and therefore familiar with magic circles.”

“But it’s true, look.”

Iros walked over to the bed and showed her the paper, she looked at the intricate grimoire and rubbed her head, feeling dizzy.

“I don’t even remember such a complex spell.”

“Me neither, but judging by Mei’s memory, I think she’s right.”

“By the way, how did the robes get stolen? Can’t you find them?”

“Deputy Diego said he’d look for it, but for now we’ll just have to wait.”

He crossed his arms and sighed, and Iros kicked off the covers to get out of bed and stepped onto the floor.

A wobble. Iros staggered forward. I hurried to his side.

“Ouch.”

“Careful. You’re not fully recovered yet, so lie down for a while.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What. You shouldn’t be sorry.”

I tried to help Iros back to bed, his shaky body leaning against my arm, his weak legs barely supporting him.

But Iros shook his head and leaned into me, his large body gently wrapped around me, hugging me tightly and resting his head on my shoulder.

“I don’t want to lie down again, I’m a knight and the Lady’s sword, and I’m supposed to be escorting her.”

“You’re going to escort me while holding me so tightly?”

“Yes.”

“You look more like a puppy snuggling to its master than a sword.”

“I’ll call him a puppy, then.”

The warmth of Iros’s body and his foolishness were not unpleasant. He was being unusually cuddly for a child in pain.

“You cuddled with Mei, but you don’t want to cuddle with me, do you?”

Iros’s voice sounded a little grumpy, and I realized.

“Aha. Is this jealousy now?

He’s been fighting for me ever since Mei arrived, as if in competition, and he wants to cuddle with me.

Or to keep Mei in check.

I slipped my fingers into Iros’s back hair and stroked him gently.

“I’m the boss, and I don’t want my pretty little puppy to be pampered.”

“You don’t even call him cute.”

“What did you just say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

No, you just made a very jealous, pouty, childlike comment.

Thinking that Iros had become more forthright with his feelings and demands lately, I kissed him on the forehead, sideways, briefly, and said.

“You’re my favorite thing about you, why would you say that.”

“But we don’t even sleep together these days……!”

“If you’re uncomfortable on the floor, come upstairs and sleep with me because my bed is big.”

“That’s not what I meant. Ha ha.”

“……?”

I shake my head, pretending not to know, pretending to be naive, but I know what Iros is trying to say.

“But I’m still a Confucian girl, and I have too much conscience to do something like that.

If it weren’t for the memories of her past life, she would have spent days and nights nuzzling and stroking his neck.

Kim Sowon, who gave up the national archery team due to injury and went to university to live as a normal college student, was far from this.

‘I can’t kill you until you live a good life and remove all the death flags. You have to live long and thin!

With a clenched fist, I vowed to myself, and quickly tucked Iros into bed and pulled the covers over him.

He kissed Iros on the cheek, who looked quite unhappy about something, and returned to the couch.

“You get some rest, Pink, and Mei and I will do some reading about the magic circle. Let me know if you find anything useful.”

“Yeah!”

“You two are going to read all those books?”

“Yeah.”

The obviousness of my answer left Iros speechless for a moment, and then with a sigh, he slid off the bed and flopped down on the couch.

Then, shamelessly and casually, he pushed me aside, straddled my lap, lay down, and picked up a book.

“Pink, what are you doing?”

“I’m trying to relax and read a book. It’s faster to find it in threes than two, isn’t it?”

“Why lie on my lap?”

“I get dizzy when I sit down.”

Well, then, why lie on a cramped couch when you can lie in a comfy bed?

I looked over the edge of the couch and saw Iros’s long legs sticking out.

“Well. Whatever. But if you get feverish or sick, I’ll send you back to bed.”

“Okay.”

“Why don’t you tighten the strings on your shirt?”

“That’s how the saint dressed me, loose.”

The front of his shirt was loose, allowing a glimpse of his straight, white collarbone and his chest, pink with fever.

If Iros leaned down, I could see everything inside.

I returned my gaze to the book and spoke in a low voice.

“I think you should get rid of those fancy clothes.”

“All my clothes are like this. The saint bought me a closet full of clothes to wear only these.”

“I’ll buy you some new clothes later.”

I didn’t even find the main hall.

Now that I think about it, I think Iros only wears his white Guardian uniform because it’s the only conservative thing he owns.

The uniform is the only thing he wears that doesn’t go up to his neck and doesn’t show or pierce.

“In other words, everything I’ve bought him is cut-out, see-through, and revealing.

Sierra, you pervert. Yes. I was a pervert. Damn it.

I gave up thinking about it and buried my face in my book.

Hours passed and the sun was slowly setting, and it was time for candlelight.

My eyes were watering and my head was spinning as I searched through all the ancient texts I had brought.

“Ha. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Mei, Iros. Did you find anything?”

“No. I don’t think it’s this book. There’s nothing in it that looks like it.”

“Neither do the books I’ve read. I think it’s better to ask an expert.”

“Ugh. I’ll leave it to Pink to find someone who knows the magic circle.”

I tried to look up the book, but it was useless; I couldn’t tell a sick child to hurry to a specialist.

Iros had run out of steam from his reading, so he tossed the book aside, closed his eyes, and buried his face in my leg.

“I’ll go find someone familiar with magic djinn first thing tomorrow morning, just looking at the book now makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Okay. That would be nice.”

Exhausted, I closed the book and put it down. Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by a heavy voice.

“Holy Mother, it’s Diego, the High Priest. May I come in?”

“Diego? You’re already here? Come in.”

Eyes narrowed, they nodded their permission, and the door opened and High Priest Diego entered.

Mei and Iros rose from their seats and took up positions behind me.

I didn’t expect to find the killer, but out of politeness, I asked Deputy Diego.

“Is the search over? Where is he?”

“We haven’t found the culprit. We’ve searched the rooms of everyone who attended the meeting, but we haven’t found anything unusual.”

“I see.”

“Can you take this-”

“Robes?”

My voice rises as I recognize the blood-dried robe in the box that Deputy Diego has brought with him.

It was unmistakably Eldrakis’s robe, whether I looked at it from the front or turned it inside out.

The magic circles drawn in coarse charcoal were unmistakable, as were the initials written inside.

I asked, stunned.

“If you couldn’t find the killer, how did you find the robe?”

“We searched the rooms and found that the culprit had left the robes in the garden. The paladins on patrol found it.”

“Thank goodness. At least you found it again.”

“Yes. There were too few clues to find the culprit, so once we found the robe, we ended the search and brought closure to the situation.”

“Thank you for your efforts, High Priest Diego. I’ll have an expert look into the magic circle tomorrow.”

“Yes, please.”

High Commissioner Diego nodded, bowed, and left.

Mei and Iros, standing behind him, waiting for him to return, scurried to my side to inspect the robes.

“Thank goodness, I didn’t think we’d find it so quickly.”

“I know. I’d given up on finding the robes, too, but it seems High Commissioner Diego is resourceful. Partly because the killer left the robes behind.”

“I’m sure Diego is a very capable man.”

“He is. At first, I thought he was the one who stole the robes. I was wrong.”

As he fiddled with his robe, Mei, who had been quiet beside him, spoke up.

“Was it a misunderstanding?”

“Mei?”

Mei’s face turned a little white as she stared at the magic circles on the robe.

Mei, who would have been the first to scream and cheer if she had found the robe, had remained silent.

Sensing something was amiss, I carefully compared Mei’s drawing to Robe’s magic circle.

She opened her mouth in disbelief.

“It’s different, the magic circle.”

“Yes.”

I, Mei, and Iros all remained silent, each with a serious expression on our faces.